AngularJS vs ReactJS: Which is Best for Internet of Things (IoT) App Development?

Nowadays, web development is continuing to get empowered with the development of dynamic libraries as well as frameworks. AngularJS happen...

Nowadays, web development is continuing to get empowered with the development of dynamic libraries as well as frameworks. AngularJS happens to be one of the most robust frameworks backed by Google, whereas ReactJS is one of the most powerful libraries maintained mainly by Facebook. When you are on the lookout to choose the right one for IoT app development, it is important to understand the respective advantages as well as the various factors that need to be considered before picking one of the two.

First, let us glance through the advantages of both ReactJS and AngularJS.

AngularJS vs ReactJS: Which is Best for Internet of Things (IoT) App Development?

ReactJS for IoT App Development

Going for ReactJS for an IoT project might seem to be an odd choice. But, it can actually work wonders for your cross-platform mobile app development and other needs such as web development and creation of 3D and VR user interfaces. ReactJS is gaining popularity for providing support in server-side IoT applications. Go through the various benefits of ReactJS below:

Top 7 Advantages of ReactJS for IoT App Development

1. Separation Of Concerns
2. Compositional Structure
3. SEO-Friendly
4. Smooth Transition
5. Component Lifecycle Method
6. A Rich And Open Toolset
7. A Strong Community

Let's discuss in detail above mentioned benefits of ReactJS below:

1. Separation Of Concerns

One of the most useful advantages of React framework is the separation of concerns. It means altering any one of the components won’t affect the rest of the codes. Also, you won’t get lost in the compound code interactions and will be able to manage the data more efficiently.

2. Compositional Structure

React apps function on the compositional structure, enabling developers to organize the codes better.

3. SEO-Friendly

React applications ensure high speed and performance, which in turn contributes to augmenting the user experience and boosting the visibility, thereby contributing to better SEO.

4. Smooth Transition

With React web applications, it becomes easier to switch to ReactNative and give a native look and feel to them, and further reuse the apps to increase the development speed. Learn more about ReactJS vs React Native.

5. Component Lifecycle Method

As ReactJS is a component-based framework, the components in every application are rendered onto virtual DOM. The component lifecycle method helps streamline interaction of apps with the real world. This ensures keeping up all the components with the data changes.

6. A Rich And Open Toolset

Being an open-source technology, React is free and accessible for all. It is enriched with tools such as Flux/Redux and node.js.

7. A Strong Community

The React library boasts a strong community of over 1000 contributors across the globe along with a solid corporate support to keep the technology thriving.

AngularJS for IoT App Development

AngularJS is an open-source framework that has emerged as a popular choice for IoT app development. As far as this front-end framework is concerned, it offers a wide range of benefits including faster and lighter app functioning, elimination of unnecessary codes, and so on. Not only does it help in building dynamic, interactive single-page apps, it also equips the applications with enriching features such as modularization, templating, two-way binding, AJAX handling, dependency injection, etc. In fact, you don’t really need to rely on third-party libraries for building apps with Angular.

Top 7 Advantages Of AngularJS for IoT App Development

1. Backed by Google
2. Declarative UI
3. Easy App Testing
4. Modular Structure
5. Simplified MVC pattern
6. Use of POJO - Plain Old JavaScript Object
7. Typescript

Let's discuss in detail above mentioned benefits of AngularJS below:

1. Backed by Google

AngularJS is an already established framework and is well-supported by Google. In fact, Google plans to scale it up with an extended Long-Term Support (LTS). So the future is definitely bright for this one.

2. Declarative UI

Angular uses HTML which is an intuitive, declarative and less convoluted language to define the applications’ UI. There is no need to invest time in determining what gets loaded first and deciding the in program flows.

3. Easy App Testing

Testing of apps developed using Angular framework is quite simple and easy. Just go by the ‘one file - one module’ principle and forget about the module loading order.

4. Modular Structure

The Angular framework helps in organizing the codes into buckets, commonly known as modules. These modules pave the way for lazy loading as well as application feature loading in the background or even on-demand.

5. Simplified MVC Pattern

When developing web and mobile applications, the Angular framework puts to use a modular approach following the MVC (Model-View-Controller) structure. But, instead of splitting the code and later uniting it with additional code, Angular framework only requires to distribute the IoT applications into MVC components. a later point through an additional code, AngularJS only requires developers to distribute their IoT application into MVC components. Then, it acts as a pipeline and joins them.

6. Use of POJO - Plain Old JavaScript Object

AngularJS uses POJO (Plain Old JavaScript Object) so there is no need for any extra getter and setter function. Additionally, Angular offers object manipulation as well wherein adding or removing properties from the objects is actually a cakewalk.

7. TypeScript

Angular applications are built using the TypeScript language, which is actually a superscript for JavaScript. TypeScript facilitates early detection and elimination of errors at the time of writing the codes or performing maintenance tasks. It isn’t a stand-alone language like Dart or CoffeeScript, but it does support types, viz. primitives, interfaces, etc. in order to ensure app security. The TypeScript language offers a better navigation, an improved refactoring, auto-completion, and an option to opt-out of its inbuilt functionalities.

ReactJS vs AngularJS - Top 5 Key Factors That Determines The Choice You Make

Well, each of these two has its fair share of pros and cons. Choosing one of them must ultimately be based on your app development requirements and which of their properties are the most suitable for your development needs. Of course, the final decision should ideally be made after you consider both ReactJS and AngularJS in the light of your IoT app requirements. So, here’s what you need to know while selecting between ReactJS and AngularJS for IoT Application Development:

1. The Popularity Quotient

Since AngularJS is an already established framework so has gained more prominence over the years. Expect a clean coding, one-line commands and an in-built process to resolve all types of app glitches. But, even then React is getting more popular among the developers.

2. Development Speed & Productivity

The app development speed of apps created using AngularJS remains high. This is because AngularJS ensures an improved app development experience with the help of its clean coding feature of TypeScript. On the contrary, the development speed and productivity of apps built using ReactJS is comparatively low. This is because of the third-party library integrations.

3. The MVC Pattern

While AngularJS is developed using MVC architecture, ReactJS gives access to only the view component of MVC, thereby increasing the lines of code.

4. DOM - Real VS Virtual

AngularJS makes use of real DOM. Even if a single change or modification is required in any element, it would mean updating the entire tree data structure. But, as far as ReactJS is concerned, it uses virtual DOM that is easier to track and manipulate, and doesn’t require meddling with other elements.

5. Data Binding

Data binding refers to establishing a strong connection between the app’s UI and business logic. AngularJS makes use of two-way coupling to connect model data to the DOM directly impacting the app performance. On the other hand, React has a one-way data binding process which eliminates the complexity of large applications. In fact, with React, the load time of applications on the browser can be reduced marginally with an built-in virtual DOM feature allowing the server to save a light DOM tree.

Conclusion:

Both React and Angular come in handy for building captivating applications. But, though both of them are invariably befitting app development frameworks, the nature of application you need will form the key determining factor in selecting the suitable one. If you are seeking to create a small-sized app, then ReactJS is a befitting choice. But, if you yearn for scalability with enriched features, then going for AngularJS is the best bet. You can hire any senior web developer to know more about ReactJS and AngularJS technologies.